This invention relates to a device for suspending the upper part of the torso above a seat, chair or such other support as a person may be seated on. The purpose of this elevated support for the upper torso is to allow the spinal column to stretch out, for reasons of comfort and health.
This device further relates to a construction for maintaining proper posture while in a seated position such that the supportive function continues even while the arms, neck and head of the individual may be moving.
The need for such a device is substantial given the incidence of lower back problems and pain to which people living in modern industrial societies are prone. Backaches and such problems result from many factors, but often people who sit or drive are especially vunerable to such lower back pain.
Reasons for this pain are again many and varied, but in general back problems result from the spinal column, the verterbrae compacting, settling. This compaction to the spinal column can occur from over-exertion, from age or general physical condition or from maintaining a seated position for too long a time, or any combination of these factors.
Whatever the reasons, however, the incidence of lower back problems in modern-day people is one of the main sources of physical discomfort. This discomfort, again, seems targeted at people who do a great deal of sitting, such as drivers. The function of and purpose of this device is to provide an apparatus allowing the user to have relative freedom of motion while at the same time relieve pressure and weight on the spinal column with the result that the spinal column may be stretched out.
The benefits of this relief from weight and pressure on the spinal column is a reduced incidence of verterbrae compression with the resulting reduction in pain and discomfort.
A further object of this invention is to provide a device that is simple in construction and operation, easily portable, having few components that provides the needed lifting of the torso, providing support for the torso for the relief of weight of the spinal column.